The Kremlin said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent statements, including a threat of sanctions on buyers of Russian exports, are serious and require analysis.

The time frame for the further arms deliveries, which European countries have agreed to pay for, is crucial. Russia is making a summer push to break through along the 620-mile front line, and its drones and missiles are hammering Ukrainian cities more than at any time in the war.

“Putin will not negotiate as a loser,” one of his longtime associates tells TIME by phone from Moscow. “He knows that winners don’t get punished, and if he wins, all of this” — the sanctions, the tariffs — “will go away.”

Trump's threat against Russia runs parallel to a Senate-led effort to pass crippling sanctions on countries that buy Russian energy.

In 2024, births in Russia fell to 1.22 million — the lowest level since 1999 — while deaths increased by 3.3% annually, to 1.82 million.

Trump also revealed that Putin had recently offered to assist in mediating between Israel and Iran during their brief June conflict — an offer he declined. “I said, ‘No, no, you help me get a settlement with you, with Russia,’” Trump recounted. “And I think we're going to be doing that too.”

Angela Stent, senior fellow at Brookings Institution, says Russian President Vladimir Putin counted on Chinese President Xi Jinping's support when he invaded Ukraine – and continues to count on Beijing's economic support and diplomatic support on a global stage.

Trump makes major statement on Russia after announcing U.S. sending missiles to help Ukraine. Here's what to know and what he said about Putin

If the Admiral Kuznetsov is decided not to continue repairs, it remains only to take it, cut it into scrap metal and dispose of it,” one admiral said.

President Donald Trump is finally taking the fight to Vladimir Putin. Sort of. For now. Trump’s deference to Russia’s authoritarian leader has been one of the most enduring geopolitical subplots of the past decade.